The Snowflake We Saw That Day
by Guardian of Heart
Summary: Anohana AU: Merida, Jack, Hiccup, and Rapunzel used to be the best of friends, but after Jack's accidental death they find themselves estranged from one another. 7 years after the incident, Jack appears before Hiccup asking him to fulfill his final wish. Now they must reunite The Big Four to figure out why Jack has returned, and to fulfill his final wish. (Endgame: HiJack)


**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Trying out a new project here for the Big Four, an Anohana AU that Lastuff on Tumblr drew out and I _had _to write because the anime tore my heart out. I'll note now that I gave Hiccup the name Henrik (this isn't related to Youth; I honestly just like the name for him), but he calls himself Hiccup because it was Jack's name for him. The endgame of this Fanfiction _will _be some form of HiJack, so I'm throwing that warning out to you now before I get messages in the future ha-ha. This is the prologue, which will introduce how Jack died, and his "rising" later on. I'm also warning you now that this is a side story; as for priority it comes second to Youth to me! On that note, updates might take a little on the longer side—I honestly just wanted to get this started so I could work on it more later. This is probably going to end up a fairly short story, since I'm going off the anime in plot-points and there are fewer characters than the original story.

**Title: **Based on a theme present in the chapter; also a song by Imogen Heap that _sort _of pertains to the content?

**Overview: **Merida Dunbroch, Henrik "Hiccup" Haddock, Rapunzel Gothel, and Jack Overland used to be the best of friends, but after Jack's accidental death they find themselves estranged and detached from one another. 7 years after the incident, Jack appears before Henrik asking him to fulfill his final wish. Now they must reunite The Big Four to figure out why Jack has returned to fulfill his final wish and send him to the afterlife.

**Warnings: **Death.

**Perspective: **Big Four alternation; **this chapter follows Jack.**

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**The Snowflake We Saw That Day**

**Prologue:** Hide and Seek

**November 21****st**

* * *

Emma wasn't home.

Jack tugged open the front door with a loud, echoing _creak _and peered inside their little house, searching each corner, each wall for his little sister. _She's just hiding 'cause she's mad at me, _he thought to himself with a snigger, hopping along the landing and up the stairs with a little bounce in his step. As he rounded the corner and skipped into the living room, he grazed every piece of furniture's edge with his eyes and giggled, catching a small shadow on the far wall behind the couch. The older brunet sprang along the carpet, focusing his steps to keep them hush, to keep them quiet as he neared the little shadow. He hummed a small tune his mother had sung him once in the back of his throat, creeping toward the little black figure with a wide smile. He jumped in front of it, a loud "_ah-ha!" _ricocheting off the watching walls emptily. The receiver was nothing more than the dark cast off the couch. Not a cute little brunette girl with wide, brown eyes and a killer little smile. Jack huffed, turning on the balls of his feet to hurry down the hall.

_Emma's hiding 'cause she's mad at me again, _he repeated to himself, hobbling along the hallway.

The brunet popped his head into every room he passed, glancing along motionless furniture that hid no secret sister. He grumbled under his breath at every cabinet he tossed open that lacked the little girl, groaned with every corner he turned that failed to reveal her pouting, quivering lips. _She's really mad, _he thought with a melancholic sigh, stumbling into his own room clumsily. The curtains blew by his windows, shuffling and dancing as a sweet breeze rolled in. It was too cold, so Jack climbed the cliff that was his bed and tugged the window shut, relieved at the lingering chill but comfortable amount of warmth now present in the air. He bounced a bit on the mattress, giggling as his fleece blanket kissed the tips of his toes and hopped off onto the carpeted floor. He tugged open his closet door; face falling when Emma wasn't there. The brunet loped out the door and scurried into her room, opening the door with a tiny squeak.

"Em~ma~" he sang, peeking through the small crack he made in the doorway. When no one responded, he opened it more and held a foot over the carpet. "I'm gonna go in your room, and you can't stop me unless you come out now~"

No one answered. Jack grumbled, slipping into her room with a graceful little leap.

"I'm in your ro~om!"

No one hollered, or demanded him to get out. Emma didn't complain. His mother didn't call for him to stop picking on his sister. His father didn't scold, or remind him that he needs to be more respectful to girls since "that's what a gentleman does". Emma wasn't home. _No one_ was home. It was just Jack; calling the wind by the names he'd acquainted himself with since birth.

_Emma left 'cause she's mad at me again, _he mumbled with a lonely sigh. _She's mad I wouldn't play with her today. _

Jack tugged his jacket on and hurried to the front landing, tossing open the door with another loud _creak _that echoed through the house. He dashed into the snow-covered yard, stumbling through the gate when his boot caught on the bottom-railing; rounding the corner and darting toward the woods. He pondered where the little girl could _possibly _be hiding, since all her usual spots were vacant. Emma was never good at hide and seek, no sir; she hid under piles of blankets and in predictable little crevices in the kitchen. Sometimes she left little trails of sugar on the floor to throw him off but _still _picked the _easiest _spots. And sure, sometimes Jack was a little more gullible than he'd like to admit; sometimes it took him _and _Hiccup just to find her under the dining room table, with her little brunet ponytail curled around her neck and splayed along her shoulder. Of course, Hiccup was a really good seeker; teamed up with Jack they were a completely _unstoppable _seeking duo.

Oh! That's it! Hiccup was a _great _seeker! He could find Jack, even when he climbed up a tree and pretended to be one of the branches, even when he hopped into a laundry basket and covered his head with a dirty towel. He found Merida when she hid in her Mom's car, and spotted Punzie's bright, blonde hair even when she hid behind an easel. Maybe he was still at the clubhouse, reading a book on the loft or playing pirates on the table. If Jack could find Hiccup, they could _easily _find Emma; she was no match for the two of them! The brunet hurried down the asphalt, hopping over a little wooden fence when the road ended towards the woods. He stumbled after landing and smiled, taking a deep breath before rushing down the dirt-path.

Hiccup _had _to still be in the fort; he _always _stayed longer than the others. He always had some dorky dragon book to read, or a toy he wanted to play with, or some stupid game he made up he wanted to play but no one else did (his rules were way too hard to follow, that jerk). Jack hopped on top of a few big rocks wedged in the ground, pretending to be a brave adventurer off to save the princess. The ground was lava, like when he and Punzie played their magic kingdom game; his feet skidded along logs and he nearly slipped when it came to hopping from one to another. He yelped and mumbled scenarios under his breath, playfully hobbling from obstacle to obstacle until the silhouette of the Big Four fort made itself known in the distance. Jack smiled, disregarding the dangerous lava-floor and tugging on his imaginary lava-proof boots as he darted toward the doorway.

"_HICCUP!_" He hollered loudly, waiting for the scrawny brunet to call back. Silence followed. "_Hiccup! _I need your help see~king!"

More silence. The fort was infested with it.

"Hiccup? Punz~ie?" Jack sang, skipping into the fort with a curious song. "Mer?"

He poked his head in the doorway and sighed, finding nothing but four empty corners and a bright pink scarf on the table. _Rachel must have left it behind, _Jack thought to himself as he glanced at it, memorizing its flowery pattern and bright purple tassels. He remembered how fond of it the blonde was, how she flaunted it the day she managed to buy it with her allowance money. It made her look like a princess, Jack had always thought; like the ones he read about in storybooks with puffy, flowing dresses and glimmering jewels. Her long blonde hair reminded him of Rapunzel (which he had dubbed her after _years _of her dreaming to be a princess), twinkling gold in the sunlight and shining bright and beautiful when Merida wove little blue and purple flowers in it. Rachel would always be Rapunzel, in Jack's eyes; just like how Henrik would always be as little as a Hiccup.

His friends weren't there. Jack wasn't entirely sure what to do now that his plan hadn't panned out the way he had originally planned. He peeked around the fort for his little sister, poking his head into one of the high cabinets and tugging off Hiccup's green, fleece throw on the loft. He left one of his big, thick dragon books there, that little dork. Jack would have to remind him to pick it up later, when the two of them were playing in the yard without a care in the world. _Oh well, _he thought to himself with a heavy sigh. _I'll have to find Emma myself. She hid because she's mad at _me _anyways; why make Hiccup play too?_

He dragged each step as he hopped out of the fort, pushing the blanket-barrier they nailed to the doorway out of the way as he walked. The cold air nipped at his nose, earning an amused little giggle from the brunet; the November air was chilly, kissing his skin with chapped, arctic lips that left the hair on his arms standing on edge. His fingers curled into the pockets of his favorite white hoodie, taking refuge in the warm pouches. It felt nice to warm them up, nice to feel the warmth of his pockets hold his hands like Emma did as they crossed the street together. The memory brought a smile to his lips. Taking small steps, he strode away from the fort and back into the brown forest. He had to find Emma. He was bringing his angry, baby sister home to Mom and Dad—no matter where she was, Jack was going to find her and say sorry for making her so upset.

He couldn't help it though! The Big Four was mega-extra-cool and a super _exclusive _group; Emma wasn't old enough to understand! Sometimes they went adventuring in the woods, or spelunking (more like climbing, really; they liked to _pretend_ they were miners) in a cave Hiccup found by accident. It was dangerous stuff, really, too dangerous for his baby sister! One time, he and Merida were fighting over who got to be the mountain prince while they were in the woods, and they saw a _bear! _It's true! Man, if Merida hadn't told him to hide, they would've been goners. And if Emma were there? Forget it! She'd get in the way, or—_worse_—get hurt! Besides, if she joined they'd have to change their name, and Jack was _pretty _sure the Fantastic Five was already a comic thing.

The river had iced over rather nicely. The blue-eyed boy found it pretty to look at, with icy shards dangling over the cliff edges and drifting ice-tops floating about the water. Soon, he and Emma would be able to go ice skating at the lake, just like they usually did in the winter. Jack's Dad had been taking them there since they were little, teaching them how to skate without tripping and how to check if the ice was thick. He held Emma's hands when she slipped and helped her up when she fell and cried; the two of them had fun playing around on the ice. Mom always had hot chocolate waiting for them when they trekked back home, jackets and gear drenched from a few stray snow-angels they'd made on the way back. Winter was always a fun season for the Overlands, full of silly traditions and yummy food unique to the holidays. He couldn't wait.

Jack skipped down the path, giggling to himself when his feet slid on some black ice he missed while he was hopping around. Sure enough, as he turned down another path (a shortcut he'd discovered long ago) he spotted their usual lake just ahead. A smile tugged at his lips as he neared it, taking care with every step as he noted the ice-patches gracing the cliff sides. Just below him, the lake had already frozen over in what looked like a thin layer of ice (of course, he was just eyeballing it, so it could've been thicker). Dang. He and Emma would have to skate in December, or in January when the ice got thicker with the temperatures plummeting.

"_Ja~ack!_"

His focus wavered, from the lake to the call of his name echoing through the air. He turned to look over his shoulder, listening closely.

"_Ja~ack!"_

Jack smiled to himself. Looks like he found Emma after all. He called back playfully, "Come and find me~!"

For a split second, he felt relieved. _Finally, _he'd found his baby sister after what felt like hours of looking for her (really, it was probably only thirty minutes). Naturally, he'd tease her the second they reunited; it was just how he functioned, by making silly jokes and stupid nicknames to show people how much he liked them. They could play hide and seek when they got back to the house, and maybe even get Dad to come play (permitting he wasn't busy with work, like always). Now they'd be able to go back home and he could apologize to her for saying she couldn't play with them that morning. He did, honestly, feel bad about it, the guilt settling in his stomach like a thickening nausea. They bickered and fought a lot lately, but Jack never meant a word of what he said; he was just a little competitive when it came to arguing, that was all. He liked having the last laugh, but not if that meant making his sister feel bad. Hopefully, she'd understand that—that his apology wasn't empty like when he purposely took her stuff or teased her mercilessly.

He took a deep breath and hopped on to his feet, immediately regretting it as his feet slid. Jack screamed.

He wobbled, holding out his arms to regain his balance but ended up tumbling backward; back sliding against the curve of the cliff's edge (he could have _sworn _he heard something snap in the process) until he plummeted down, catching a glimmer of distant gold and hitting the ice with a loud and painful _crack! _that echoed through the air as he sank into the happened so quickly, so… so easily it was scary; in the blink of an eye he went from reaching for his sister with a distressed "_EMMA!_" to the cold, unforgiving embrace of the water below him. Almost instantly, he felt breathless, limbs aching from the sudden and wet drop in temperature; he could feel the Goosebumps already forming on his skin and panicked, holding his breath instinctively as he fought to swim upward with his eyes tightly shut. His fingers brushed something almost _painfully _cold, and when he registered it as ice he felt his heart sink and his lungs ache.

Jack was stuck under the ice. He must have slid and surfaced under it, left to bang and weightlessly kick at it, hoping to force some kind of opening for him to get air from.

He struggled to break it, begged the water to let him go when it felt like it was _dragging _him to the bottom with an icy death-grip. If he floated still (and he tried not to, but needed to for a quick moment) he could feel his bones quivering, his limbs _shaking _mercilessly. It was starting to hurt. Each kiss of his knuckles to the bottom of the ice, or hasty kick with his legs only sharpened the pain; spread it from the stricken area all over his body. Panic settled and his lungs _burned _when he tried to make the most of his last breath. He plugged his nose and covered his mouth with one numb, strikingly _pale _set of five fingers just to keep himself from taking in any water. He needed air. He needed to get _out!_

Jack tried to force his body toward a small gap of light he could barely make out from behind his eyelids, but his body wouldn't move. It trembled and weighed him down deadly, restricting his ability to kick and flail his arms in _some _kind of attempt to move forward. He couldn't feel his fingers, couldn't feel it when he told his brain to wiggle his toes. He couldn't take the burning in his throat any longer and felt himself choking, far worse than any time his mother tied his necktie too tightly or when Merida sat on him to get a turn on the GameCube. No, this was strangling, frustrating, completely and utterly _maddening _when the thought of dying set in the 10-year-old's brain and sent a chill (unique from the lingering one already present on his skin) rolling down his spine. Moments passed, and Jack felt lighter. No, that's not quite right—he just couldn't feel _anything _all together. His eyelids were getting heavy and he felt himself panicking when his arms and legs thrashed without him telling them to; he saw one of his legs violently kicking at the ice again, that was so far away he could barely make it out anymore as he sank. If he could laugh, he would've; it was as if his subconscious was still fighting for him to get out even though he was starting to give up.

Jack Overland didn't remember why, but he felt like taking a nap. Maybe that was the lazier side of him talking, but the idea of sleeping felt welcoming as the pain in his throat numbed to a dull throb and his eyelids became unbearably heavy.

He felt weightless.

Meaningless.

Cold, lonely, and _scared. _

And as he let his eyes shut and the water to take him wherever it merrily pleased, he let the world dim and darken.

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**Author's Note: **This is basically the flash-back that Anohana starts off with, to Jack slipping down the hill and drowning in the lake. Next chapter (after a bit of planning and Youth gets updated) will be more centric to Hiccup, with possible pop-ins from Jack's perspective. I'm trying a different kind of style with this story, so please bear with me if the writing is different. Hopefully, ya'll liked it; sorry it's kinda short but hey-prologue, and what not. Thanks for reading, see you next update.


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